Health problems resulting from bacterial infections, once declining in importance, are experiencing a resurgence for several reasons: (1) the wide-spread emergence of drug-resistant bacterial strains, (2) the continuing problem of bacterial biofilm formation, which results in drug resistance and causes a variety of persistent infections including chronic middle ear, bone, and heart valve infections; infections related to implanted medical devices; and lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis and other chronic problems, and (3) terrorists and rouge states may use bacteria as biological weapons. The biofilm issue is gaining importance because of medical advances that allow an increasing percentage of individuals to have an improved quality of life by relying on implanted medical devices, artificial heart valves, replacement joints, and the like. In addition, the general population is living longer, and there is an increasing number of people with chronic health problems, such as asthma, diabetes, and compromised immune functions that may give rise to persistent infections. Once persistent infections are established, biofilm formation may become a problem, which in turn leads to drug resistance problems.
In addition to human health issues, biofilm formation is also a problem in industry (e.g., water, sanitation, and fuel industries) and animal care including aquatic animal care. In most cases, a non-sterile environment with nutrients usable by one or more microbial species is conducive to the colonization of a surface by the microbe(s), whereupon they will proliferate and secrete polysaccharide and other compounds that together form a film that protects the underlying organisms, and can prove troubling to remove. The complex and dense nature of the secreted matrix of a biofilm typically affords resistance to penetration by antimicrobials such as antibiotics and disinfectants. For all the reasons stated above, there is an ever expanding need for the development of new strategies to deal with bacterial infection issues that have no current effective solution.